Nokia Lumia 525 Review

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Nokia Lumia 525 Review

When the Nokia Lumia 520 was launched at the Mobile World Congress event last year, not many knew that the company just introduced its first best seller in the Lumia series. It went on to become the most popular Windows Phone ever made, for the fantastic value it offered for the money. But there was one longstanding issue that Nokia had to fix, the small amount of RAM that denied a lot of people new games and apps that were trickling down to Windows Phone.

So, in the series of upgrades that Nokia delivered to existing hardware with small changes, aka adding a 5 to the model number and re-releasing it, we now have the Lumia 525 that fixes the one issue that most wanted fixed. Hence the Lumia 525 comes with 1 GB of RAM and a minor look and feel refresh but overall retains everything else about the Lumia 520 because may be Nokia thought “why fix something that isn’t broke?”. So, how does the Lumia 525 match up to the newly re-invigorated competition, and what does the 1 GB of RAM bring? Let’s find out in our in depth review.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_-bES6w6Tw

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Apple iPhone 5s Review

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Apple calls the iPhone 5s, the most forward thinking iPhone yet. A departure from when Apple didn’t care to enter the spec wars, it claims to be the best smartphone in the world. Historically speaking, the “S” editions of Apple’s smartphones have changed little on the outside and have opted for substantial changes under the hood. This remains the case here as well. The iPhone 5s brings 64bit support, Touch ID fingerprint sensor and a completely overhauled operating system as well. Does all of this align to make investing in the iPhone worth it? We find out in our review. Continue reading “Apple iPhone 5s Review”

Spice Smart Flo Mettle 5x Mi-504 Review

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Spice has been at the forefront of India’s budget Android market almost since its inception. With some compelling releases over the past few years and months, it has been able to carve a niche for itself while facing stiff competition from Micromax, Karbonn and competition at large. Throwing its latest device into the budget Android device ring with the Spice Smart Flo Mettle 5x, the company aims to gain a foothold amongst the first time smartphone buyers. Will it succeed? We find out in our review. Continue reading “Spice Smart Flo Mettle 5x Mi-504 Review”

Notion Ink Adam II Review

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Notion Ink is a name that most of us remember for various reasons. Some of us remember it for the innovative wannabe product, a world’s first Tegra 2 chipset on board with an innovative Pixel Qi dual mode display and a rotating camera, that too way back in 2010 when Android 2.1 was doing the rounds. Some of us remember it for the lengthy delays in production and the overall failure to meet expectations due to sub standard retail hardware and experience. Suffice to say, it was deemed a failure.

But the company is now back with another product, the Notion Ink Adam II which was recently released in India for a starting price of Rs. 16,499. We had unboxed it a while back to find out if the device redeems itself from its predecessor’s failure. We were initially impressed, but now after about a week of usage, is the Notion Ink Adam II really worth our time and money? We find out in our full review.

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Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2 Review

Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2 Review

The Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2 is the much awaited successor to the S Duos which was the Samsung phone to get in the mid range not long ago. It had offered pretty much similar specifications as the Galaxy S but at a far lesser price making it a good deal, although only for a short time. Mainly because a lot of local players got aggressive with the pricing and offered a lot of better deals for a similar price, not to mention Nokia’s Lumia 520, which has been a popular device at a lesser price offering more value. With such renewed competition, Samsung hopes to offer a better deal with the Galaxy S Duos 2. How better of a deal is it? We find out in our review.

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Google Nexus 5 Review

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Google Nexus 5 Review

The Google Nexus One was strictly a developer device, with promises of instant updates and stock Android experience. It did not retail at prices that undercut the competition($530) but managed to become the only device that had the latest Android version. The Nexus S was similar, but with Galaxy Nexus, Google managed to price it surprisingly lower than the competition with similar hardware, thanks to introduction of the Google Play ecosystem. Somehow, from being a costly developer device, the Nexus became a highly desirable and affordable device, that brought users the best Google experience.

Video Review

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1qKZAXVVbw

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Nokia Lumia 1020 Review

Nokia-Lumia-1020-Review-1Every once in a while a phone is released which showcases the best of technology possible at that time. Back in June 2012, this is how we started off our review of the Nokia 808 PureView. Fast forward several months and the same words hold true for the Nokia Lumia 1020 as well. The epitome of smartphone photography capabilities combined into a slimmed down form factor and a modern operating system has created a phone that Nokia calls the photography centric handset in the world. We test out those claims in our review. Continue reading “Nokia Lumia 1020 Review”

Dell Venue 8 Pro Review

The tablet market is peculiar. It started out with a form factor of the iPad with 9.7 inches of screen real estate, and then suddenly, small tablets were all the rage, with the Kindle Fire and the Nexus 7 kickstarting the now popular form factor for tablets. Apple had to follow suit of course, with the iPad mini, and even if they wouldn’t want to admit, it has definitely cannibalized the bigger iPad, as noted by the falling ASPs. It is telling that the price alone wasn’t the reason(Nexus 10 is cheap too) for this form factor’s success, although it played a huge role.

Microsoft was a late entrant to this market. Windows 8 was supposed to take it by storm, but with a UI focused on landscape use, 10 inch tablets entered the space and they were met with little to no interest. It is also due to the lack of interest in this big widescreen form factor, as noted earlier. Out came Windows 8.1 with much better portrait support, better snap modes with no resolution dependencies and now, we finally have a whole range of 8 inch Windows tablets from several OEMs, with surprisingly affordable price tags. One of them, which really caught our eye, was the Dell Venue 8 Pro. Armed with the new x86 Intel Atom BayTrail processor, full blown Windows 8.1 and a price tag of 299$ for the base version, is Dell Venue 8 Pro THE small tablet you deserve? Lets find out in our in depth review.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKoVKmTrMsk

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Intex Aqua i7 Review

The mid range smartphone market in India is insanely competitive to say the least. We have been seeing tons of companies make affordable phones with some of the specifications that are usually only reserved for the top end phones. But due to the same cut throat competition, we have also been seeing many similar devices, with common attributes like the display and the chipset. In that sense, the current market trend is this – a 5 inch 1080p display and a MediaTek 6589T processor. The Gionee Elife E6, the Micromax Canvas Turbo and of course, the Intex Aqua i7 are all part of this trend, improving upon the 720p screen based phones earlier. But is it really worth the effort and upgrade? We find out in our review and are going to see if the Aqua i7 delivers the usual promise of “more for less”.

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iPega Wireless Bluetooth Game Controller Review

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As smartphones become more powerful, the popularity of dedicated portable gaming consoles is waning. Why carry two devices when one can serve both purposes, right? However for a breed of hardcore gamers, touch controls will never cut it. Bluetooth game controllers like the iPega are meant to alleviate that specific issue. Giving you the tactile feedback of a console class controller in a package that you can easily slip into a pocket and use with your phone. Does the iPega deliver? We find out in our review.  Continue reading “iPega Wireless Bluetooth Game Controller Review”

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Review

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“Too huge!”, “Impossible to use as a phone!”, “A failed experiment..” they said, and a new category of smartphones was born. Samsung is single handedly responsible for the whole big screen revolution in the smartphone market. After the success of the Note experiment, the Korean Chaebol marched ahead with the Note II, and that turned out to be an even better success story. On that note(pun intended), we are now here with the third iteration that takes things up a notch, not just with respect to its predecessor but also with respect to the company’s other flagship.

Read: How Samsung became the only company with two flagship smartphones.

Like the original, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 too has a number of firsts. It’s the first phone with 3GB of RAM and also the first with a micro USB 3.0 port. While there are other lesser known firsts, Samsung has undeniably gone for the top end with this one. But at a steep Indian price of Rs. 49,900, is the Galaxy Note 3 with its top end specs and stylus tricks worth your money? Lets find out in our fully detailed review.

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ZTE Blade G2 Review

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The entry level Android handset market is one of the hottest and the primary driver of smartphone sales in the country. As brands capitalize on this segment, we’ve seen a proliferation of new players entering the market. ZTE too is aiming to capture a share of the market with the Blade G2. Let’s take a look at how capable this Android 4.2 running handset is. Continue reading “ZTE Blade G2 Review”

Sony Xperia Z1 Review

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Sony’s mission to combine assets from across the company and to create a flagship device have not gone unnoticed. From the Xperia Z to the Xperia Z Ultra and now the Z1, we’ve seen a growing consolidation of buzzwords and technology features from across Sony’s product portfolio in a bid to create a hero product. The Z and Z Ultra while good products definitely had their fair share of flaws. Will Sony be able to finish what they started and create a device worthy of flagship status? Let’s find out. Continue reading “Sony Xperia Z1 Review”

Oppo R819 Review

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Oppo, a relatively new player in the Smartphone world, had already impressed us with the beautifully made Find 5, its current flagship device. But as any company that looks to expand its portfolio, Oppo has sought to address the mid-range market, which brings volume as well as the ability to reach more people. The R819 is a step in that direction. Armed with a 4.7 inch 720p display, a super thin 7.3mm profile and an 8 megapixel camera, the device is a decent cut-down in specifications when compared to the Find 5, literally in every sense, including thickness and weight. Oppo is now getting into the very similar yet extremely crowded mid-range category, but does the R819 impress enough to stand out? Read on for our fully detailed review below.

Note: Check out the 360 degree view of the Oppo R819 before proceeding towards the full review!

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Nokia Lumia 925 Review

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The Nokia Lumia 925 was launched in London a few months back, as the company’s answer to all the issues related to the Lumia 920. Concerns of bulk, thickness and similar looking design were addressed, with the Lumia 925 sporting a new Aluminium based design, a thinner and lighter build, bringing along some needed changes. The Lumia 920 was already a well rounded flagship smartphone, and with Nokia supposedly fixing all of its issues in the 925, does it make it the best Windows Phone currently available in the market? Our detailed review might help answering that question, read on.

Video Review

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKjcWbwpJc8

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